Guard Grevis Vasquez had a brilliant performance in almost 36 minutes of action, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line for 25 points and added nine assists and was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. It was a complete effort and also one in which Vasquez gave much more to his team.

“As a leader I got to make sure we are ready to be playing and our energy has to be up,” he said. “When our energy is not there it’s tough for us to win. I’m not the quickest or most talented point guard, so I play with a lot of energy.”

Neither team will make the playoffs or finish above .500, but Vasquez likes the progress the Hornets are making.

“This is a big time defensive team and we’ll prove that in time,” Vasquez said. “We haven’t been consistent, that shows you how young we are. Guys are getting used to the system. This is the first year for myself playing this many minutes and getting used to the system too. It’s not an excuse, but I think we’ll get that part down defensively and show a lot of progress defensively.”

The Hornets have better athletes this season. Vasquez insists and he’s it taken upon himself to have the team make better decisions defensively.